Indian nurse Nimisha Priya has been sentenced to death in Yemen. Yemen’s President Rashad al-Amini has approved the death sentence of Nimisha Priya. He has been held guilty of the murder of Yemeni citizen Talal Abdo Mahdi. The punishment given to Nimisha Priya is being considered as a big blow for her family. Actually, Nimisha Priya’s family made every effort to get the sentence waived, but the President finally approved the death sentence.
Nimisha Priya is lodged in Yemen jail since 2017. His family also took recourse to Islamic law to get the sentence waived and even offered blood money to Talal Mahdi’s family, but Mahdi’s family refused to accept it. Let us know what is the case of Nimisha Priya and under which law of Yemen has she been sentenced to death?
Who is Nimisha Priya?
Nimisha Priya, a resident of Kerala, went to Yemen in 2008 after completing her nursing studies. In 2011, she married Indian citizen Tommy Thomas. After this the couple returned back to Yemen. Both of them contacted Yemeni citizen Talal Mahdi to find a clinic in Yemen. After this, in 2015, Nimisha came to Kerala with her husband, daughter and Mahdi. Later Priya and Mahdi went back to Kerala, but due to the civil war, her husband Tommy Thomas and daughter remained in India.
Nimisha accused Mahdi of sexual exploitation
Nimisha and Mahdi started their own clinic in Yemen. However, it is alleged that Mahdi refused to give them a share of the clinic’s earnings and even kept their documents with himself. After this, Mahdi also physically and sexually abused Nimisha. One day, to get back the documents from Mahdi, Nimisha gave him sedatives, but he died due to overdose, after which Nimisha cut his body into pieces and put them in a water tank. However, after the matter came to light, he was arrested.
What is the law of Yemen
Yemen’s law provides for death penalty for murder charges. However, Islamic law also applies here. Under this, one can get relief from murder punishment by paying blood money. Under this law, the victim’s family has the right to decide what punishment should be given to the accused of murder. The victim’s family can also forgive the accused by taking compensation (blood money) from the accused for the murder. Apart from this, death sentence can also be pardoned from the President. Nimisha Priya’s family made several attempts to get the sentence waived under these two options, but they did not succeed. Nimisha was sentenced to death by a lower court in 2020, which was upheld by the Supreme Court of Yemen in 2023.